Printing mechanism



w. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANISM July 31, 1928.

Filed July 28, 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 31, 1928.

1,678,705 w. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANI SM Filed July 28, 1922 'TSheets-Sheet 2 July 31, 1928. 1,678,705

' w. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANI SM Filed July 28, 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet 3July 31, 1928.

1,678,705 W. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANISM Filed July 28, 1922 7Sheets-Sheet 4 Q Q g Q Q Q m .1 1mg; o, Him I July 31, 1928. 1,678,705

W. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANISM Filed July 28. 1 2 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 July31, 1928. 1,678,705 w. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANISM Filed July 28, 1922'Z Sheets-Sheet 6 July 31, 1928.

w. F. MULLER PRINTING MECHANISM Filed July 28, 1922 7 Sheets-Sheet 7Patented July 3-1, 1928.

UNETED STATES 1,678,765 PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. MULLER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TOTI-IE INTERNATIONALPQSTAL SUPPLY COMPANY on NEW men on NEW YORK.

YORK, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORA- PRINTING IviECHANISM.

Application filed July 28, 1922. Serial No. 578,272.

This invention relates to printing mecha nism of that general classwherein a normally inactive element is rendered operative by thepresence of the article being operated upon, such for instance as thatdisclosed in Patent No. 861,367, granted to Frederick G. Jahn on Julyth, 1907.

(.i-enerically considered, the present invention provides means forautomatically controlling the effective operation of the normallyinactive element of the mechanism and limiting the period of sucheffective operation, said means being rendered active for theperformance of such function solely by reason of the presence of thepaper sheet which is operated upon by the machine.

In one embodiment of the present improvements I provide a movabletrolling 'the operation of the printing roller of a printing couple anda pivoted finger operatively connected to said stop and normallydisposed in the path of movement of a paper slip or check so that as thepaper slip is fed to the printing couple it will strike said finger andinitiate the movement of the stop towards its released position. Theprinting cylinder is then rotated through the medium of a frictionclutch, connecting said cylinder to a driven spindle, said clutchcarrying a cam roller which continues the movement of the stop and movessaid finger independently of the paper slip until the cam roller haspassed. beyond the stop when the latter is returned to its normalposition by a spring. When the cam roller again strikes the stop, therotation of the printing cylinder ceases, such rotation being limited toa single revolution of the cylinder for each paper slip or check passingthrough the machine.

It is also an additional object of my invention to simplify and improvethe feeding mechanism for the paper checks or slips as shown in thepatent above referred to, to thereby render the same more positive andreliable in its operation. \Vith the above and other objects in View,the invention consists in the improved printing mechanism and in theform, construction and relative arrangement of the several parts as willbe hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claim.

stop con- In the drawings wherein I have illustrated one satisfactoryand practical embodiment of the invention and in which similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating one embodiment of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View;

Fig.3 is a horizontal section through the machine frame taken on theline 3 3 of Fig. 5, illustrating the operating gearing for the severalinstrumentalities;

Fig. 4 is a section, taken on the line l4: of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig, 2; Fig. 6is a section taken on the line 6-6, of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 7-'7 of Fig. 6;

. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the drive clutch for theprinting cylinder spin-' dle. and 1 Fig. 9 isa detail sectional viewshowing the relative positions of the parts after the initial movementof the automatic stop and also, illustrating in dotted lines the mannerin which the counter is operated.

For purposes of illustration, in the accompanying drawings I have showna cancelling or marking machine for checks, certificates, envelopes orthe like, in which the several novel features of my present improvementsare embodied.

As shown, this machine is electrically controlled in its operation andincludes side frame plates 5 spaced from each other by suitable tie-rods6 mounted upon a base 7 Between these frame plates, the motor andoperating gearing for the several instrumein talities 'tobe hereinafterreferred to, is arranged andsupported, said gearing being covered andprotected by a suitable housing or casing 8, as indicated in Figures 3and 5.

The operating parts of the machine include a printing couple consistingof a cylindrical type carrying die '9 which is removably secured uponone end of a driving spindle 10 which projects beyond one of the sideplates 5. Beneath the spindle 10 a shaft or spindle 11 is rotatablysupported in a bracket- 12 which is fixed upon a rockshaft l3 journaledat itsopposite ends in the side frame plates 5,-"the supporting andguiding.

plates 5. Upon the end of said shaft 11 which projects exteriorly of theframe, a rubber covered impression roller 14 is secured. The shaft 11and one of the bearings forsaid shaft on the bracket 12 are verticallymovable in a slot 15 provided in the side or cylinder a sleeve 19 isloosely mounted and is provided at one of its ends with a gear-20. Theopposite end faces of this sleeve are recessed. to receive frictiondiscs 21. With one of these discs the opposed end of a second sleeve 22fixed to the spindle 10 is engaged. At the opposite end of the sleeve 19a collar 23 is disposed upon said spindle and has a diametricallyextending pin 24 disposed through the slot 25 in the spindle. Thespindle end is axially bored as at 26 to receive the pin 27, hearing atone of its ends against the pin 24. A coil spring 28 arranged in thebore 26 engages the other end of pin 27, the tension of this springbeing suitably adjusted by means of the screw pin 29 threaded into theend of the bore 26. This collar 23 is thus caused to exert any desiredpressure against the frietion disc 21 to which said collar is opposedand by the transmission of longitudinal pressure to the loose sleeve 19provides for the requisite frictional contact between the other .of thediscs 21 and the sleeve 22 fixed on the spindle. Accordinglyit will beapparent that when resistance is applied to the rotation of the sleeve22, the spindle 10 will also be held against rotation while the sleeve1.9 will rotate loosely on said spindle. This means for controlling theoperation of the driving spindle 1O forthe printing die or cylinder willbe presently described in detail.

Upon a vertically adjustable bracket 30 mountedupon the outer side ofone of the plate 31 for a stack of paper checks or slips, is secured.This plate is provided. with an opening 32 through which the upperportion of the primary feeding wheel 33 extends.

. This wheel is fixed upon one end of the sh aft ,34 ournaled 1n theside plates 5, said shaft v motor shaft 37.

upon said shaft and meshes wlth the pinion having a beveled gear 35fixed thereon'and engaged by the beveled pinion 36 on the Apnnon 38 isalso fixed 3'9 i'nountedupon a stud shaft fixedupon the frame plate 5,whlch in turn, 13 engaged with never/or) a large gear wheel 40 fixedupon a transverse shaft 41 journaled in the frame plates said shaft 41having a relatively large feeding wheel 42 fixed upon one end thereof inline with the wheel 33. The shaft 41 is also provided with a pinion43meshing with a gear 44. This gear is fixed upon a shaft connecting thearms 45 and 46 to each other- The arm 45 is loosely mounted on the shaft41, while the other arm 46 is loosely engaged upon a shaft 47 journaledin the bearing 48 on one end of the arm 49, the other end of said armbeing fixed to a rockshaft 50 mounted in the side plates 5. The gear 44meshing with the gear 51 on the shaft 47 rotates said latter shaft inthe same direction as the rotation of the shaft 41.

0n the end of the shaft 47, above and peripherally spaced from the feedwheel 42, afriction surfaocd disc or wheel 52 lS '5- cured. This wheeloperates in a slot. 54 formed in a presser foot 53. The bearing 48 forthe shaft 47 is movable in a vertical slot 55 in the frame plate and. inthe outer end of this hearing a vertical rod 56 is loosely engaged, thelower end of said rod being fixed to the presser foot 53. A nut 57 ismounted in the vertical extension of the bearing 48 and has threadedengagement upon the upper end of the rod 56. A spring pressed pin 58 isadapted to engage spaced recesses in this nut to hold the same againstill) casualv movement from its adjusted position. i

It will thus be seen that the relative positions of the presser foot 53and the wheel 52 may be adjusted as desired. The presser foot and wheelare urged downwardly to a normal position with relation to the feelingwheel 42 by means of a coil spring 59 surrounding the rod 60 whichextends loosely through an car 61 on the frame plate 5 and is preferablyconnectcd at its lower end to the hearing 48. By adjustment of the nut(32 threaded on the upper end of said rod against the ear 61, thepresser foot and the wheel 52 may be raised or lowered as a unit withrespect to the feed wheel42. v

The gear wheel 40 also meshes with the pinion 63 mounted on a stud shaftprojecti e from frame plate 5, said pinion being en od with a pinion 64fixed on the shaft 65. On the end of this shaft projecting from. one ofthe plates 5, a pair of spaced metal rollers 66 are fixed over which.the paper checkor slip moves as it is fed to the printing couple. Abovethese metal rollers a pair of spaced rubber surfaced rollers 67 aremounted upon a shaft loosely pivoted intermediate of its ends betweenthe arms of a yoke 69 formed l. (in

spring acts to yieldingly hold the friction rollers 67 in engagementupon the metal rollers 66.

A second gear 7 6 fixed upon the shaft 65 meshes with the reversing gear77 loosely mounted on a stud shaft fixed on the plate 5., said gearengaging one end of a relatively wide pinion 78 mounted upon a secondstud shaft 79 fixed upon the frame plate. The other portion of this widepinion 78 engages the teeth of the gear 20 on the end of the looselymounted clutch sleeve 19.

A third pinion 80 fixed upon the shaft (35 meshes with a reversingpinion 81 journaled upon a stud shaft 82 which connects the adjacentends of arms 83 and 84 respectively, to each other. The other end of thearm 88 is mounted loosely on the shaft 65 while the other end of arm 84-isloosely mounted upon the shaft 11. Upon said latter shaft the gear 85meshing with the pinion 841:, is fixed.

Through the medium of the gearing above described, it will be seen thatthe several feeding wheels and the impression roller 1% of the printingcouple are continuously r0- tated in the directions indicated by thearrows in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

The plate 81 is, of course, also provided with an opening 80 throughwhich the upper portion of the feeding wheel l2 projects and withadditional openings to accommodate the rollers 66. Between the latteropenings in said plate a slot 87 is provided through wh'1h the upper endof a finger 88 extends.

above the surface of the guide plate and between the friction rollers67. This finger, as sl'iown,1. curved to extend around the 65 and isfulcrumed intermediate of its ends arm 89 formed. upon one end of a 00loosely mounted upon the rod 01 suppo on the frame plate 5. This sleeveat its other or inner end is also provided with a downwardly projectingarm 92 to which one end of a contractile spring 93 attached, the otherend of said spring being connected to the fixed rod This spring normallyholds the arm 92 against a stop 92. The lower end of the finger 88 isconnected by the link rod 95 to the crank arm 00 fined on one end of arockshaft 97 mounted in abracket 98 secured to the frame plate Sandprojecting; on opposite es thereof. The inner end of this rockshaft isalso provided with a crank arm 09 which is connected by means of lever100 to one end an arm 101 fulcrumcd intermediate of ends upon the fixedpm 1.02. At the opposite side of said pin said arm is angulariy disposedin a downward direction as at 10 3 and is bifurcated to receive theroller 10% which constitutes a stop and coactswith a cam roller 105mounted upon the fixed clutch sleeve on the driving spindle 10 for thetype die or printingcyiinder 9. The loosely mounted other slips by thefeed wheel.

clutch sleeve 19 rotates from left to right on the driving spindle, andnormally the cam roller 105 is engaged against the underside of the stoproller 10lbelow the axis thereof, thus applying resistance to therotation of the driving spindle and the fixed clutch sleeve with thesleeve 19 so that said spindle and the printing cylinder will remainstationary.

The arm 101 carrying the stop roller 104 is yieidingly held in thisposition by means of the spring 106 which is connected to the oppositeend of said arm, such movement of the stop roller to normal positionbeing limited by engagement of the adjustable pin 107 with the lug 108projecting from the frame plate 5. i

A second arm 109 is also loosely mounted at one of its ends upon the pin102, said arm having a lower curved edge 110 with which one of the forkarms 111 on the clutch'sleeve 22 upon which roller 105 is mounted,coacts. To the other end of the arm '109 thelower end of a link rod 112is pivotally connected, the upper end of said link rod being pivoted toan arm 113 which is suitably connected to one end of the actuatingspindle 1141 of the counting device 115. This counter may be of anyapproved construction and is automatically actuated to indicate thenumber of checks, slips or other articles which have been printed ormarked. The edge of the arm 109 is held in yielding contact upon theroller carrying arm 111 by means of the spring 116.

In the operation of the machine above described, the checks or otherarticles to be operated upon are placed in a pile between the plate 31andalug 30 projecting over the upper edge of the side flange 31 on saidplate. fin adjusting screw 117 is connected to this lug so that thebracket casting 30 and the plate 31 may be vertically adjusted as a unitwith respectto the feed wheel 2-38 and thus produce the requisite amountof frictional'pressure of the peripheral face of said wheel upon thelowermost paper slip. When the motor is started in operation, theseveral feeding wheels are rotated in the directions indicated by thearrows and the lowermost paper slip on the supporting plate 31 is movedtowards the right. flhe end of this paper slip is brought beneath thepresscr foot and there separated from the 42, the wheel 52 rotating inthe slot of the presser foot from rightto left operating to hold backthe remaining; slips and prevent the movement of more than one paperslip at a time betweenthe presser foot and the feeding wheeliQ. As thepaper slip or sheet, as shown in 0 at S advances; it moves bet-ween thetwo pairs of rollers 06 and 67, the friction rollers 67 continuing theforward movement of the slip. During this portion of the movement, thepaper slip engages the end of the finger 88 projecting upwardly throughthe slot 87 in the plate 31, thereby rocking said finger relative to thearm 89 upon which it is mounted (see Fig. 9), and through the medium ofthe connections 95, 96, 99 and 100 rocking the arm 101 to move the samefrom its normal position shown in Fig. 4 to the position seen in Fig. 9.This. movement of the stop roller 104 carried by the arm 101 issufiicient to relieve the clutch sleeve 22 and the driving spindle fromthe restraining influence of said roller, whereupon rotation isinstantly imparted to the spindle 10 and the type carrying die orcylinder of the printing couple. During the initial part of thisoperating movement of the printing die,v the roller 105 rides over theroller 104 and con tinues the rocking movement of the arm 101 carryingsaid roller so that a further pivotal movement is transmitted to thefinger 88 independently of the movement which is imparted thereto by thearticle S.

Then the roller 105 passes above the roller 104, the spring 106 acts toinstantly return the arm 101 and roller 104 to the normal position seenin Fig. 4. In this movement of the stop roller, as the finger 88 cannotpass upwardly through the slot 87, it will strike the underside of thepaper slip and will be forced downwardly. This vertical move ment of thefinger is permissible owing to the mounting of said finger upon thesleeve 90, which sleeve will rock upon the pin 91, thereby moving thearm 92 away from the stop lu 92, the connecting link rod 95 swingingdownwardly to an angular position duringthis vertical movement of thefinger. This latter position of the parts I have shown in dotted linesin Fig. 9 of the drawings.

In the continued forward movement of the paper slip it passes betweenthe printing die and the impression roll of the printing couple and thesaid slip is printed or marked.

A single impression is made in each revolution of the printing die, andupon the com pletion of the printing operation the roller 105 againcomes into engagement with the underside of the stop roller 104 as seenin Fig. 4, so that a restraining influence is again applied to theclutch sleeve 22 and the driving spindle 10. Vhen the paper check orslip passes entirely beyond the printing couple it is discharged intoasuitable basket or receptacle indicated at 118. The spring 93 acts torock the sleeve 90 until the arm 92 thereof engages the stop 92, thusreturning the finger 88 to its normal position with its upper endprojecting through the slot 87 in position to be engaged by the nextpaper slip as it is fed to'the printing couple. In this manner it willbe seen that the operation of the printing cylinder of the couple isautomatically controlled in a direct and positive manner by the articleitself so as to limit each operation to a single revolution of theprinting cylinder and thus insure the making of only a single print orimpression upon the paper slip. It will also be'observed that this newautomatic control means for the printing couple is muchsimpler than thatdisclosed in the patent above referred to wherein the paper slip orarticle acts only to set a stop actuating part in position to be engagedand operated at a subsequent time by a tappet lug carried by a partof'the feed mechanism.

Any preferred means might be provided for the purpose of inking the dieor printing cylinder, but for this purpose I have herein shown an inkingroller 118 of any preferred form rotatably mounted upon a spindle 119carried by the arm 120 pivotally mounted upon one of the plates 5 as at121. To this pivoted end of said arm suitable adjusting means 122 isconnected whereby the pressure of the inking roller upon the surface ofthe printing cylinder may be regulated as desired.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and manner of operation of myimproved printing mechanism will be clearly understood. It will be seenthat I have materially simplified the con struction of the priorpatented machine, and have thereby rendered its operation more positiveand reliable. lVhile I prefer to use a mechanism for singly feeding thepaper slips or other articles to the printing couple as hereindisclosed, it is to be understood that my invention is not necessarilylimited to this specific feed mechanismbut is adaptable for use inconnection with various other alternative feeding devices which might beemployed. Likewise, I have herein referred to an arrangement of thedrive gearing for the several elements of the feed mechanism and theprinting couple as preferably provided in the practical embodiment of.my invention. Nevertheless, in this respect also, the machine issusceptible, of considerable modification.

Accordingly, it is to'b-e understood that while I have herein shown anddescribed a preferred and satisfactory embodiment of my presentinvention, the same may be exemplified by numerous alternativestructures and I accordingly reserve the privilege of resorting to allsuch legitimate changes in the form, proportion and relativearrangements of the several parts as may befairly considered within thespirit invention as claimed.

I claimz. p In a printing mechanism, a pair of feed rolls for receivingand advancing paper strips, a printing couple disposed beyond the andscope of the j feed rolls for receiving said strips and havstantially inthe direction of the path of the ing a die roll disposed at one side ofthe strip from the other end of said strip enpath 01" the strip, a shaftconnected to the die gaging lever, a second link extending transroll ofthe printing couple, means tar fricversely of the plane of the path ofthe strip tionally driving the shaft, said shatt having from thepivotedstop, and a shaft and rocker an arm thereon, a pivoted stopnormally enarm structure connected between the links gaging the arm tohold the shaft from turnfor transmitting movements between the ing, astrip engaging lever having an end strip engaging lever and the pivotedstop. extending into the path of the strip adjacent In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as to one of the feed rolls and at the opposite myinvention, I have signed my name hereside of the path of the strip fromthat of the under. i

die roll, a yieldable pivoted support for said strip engaging lever, alink extending sub- WILLIAM F. MULLER.

